nervy

/ˈnɜː.vi/

//ˈnɜː.vi// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"nervy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nervy” is uncommon English (frequency #70,953 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,953
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having nerve; bold; brazen.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nervy · nervy · English

nervy · rank #70,953 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,953
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nephropathy

Nearest frequency peer: nephropathy (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “nervy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “nervy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nervy
PropertyValue
Headwordnervy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈnɜː.vi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#70,953
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nervy” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).nervyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “nephropathy” (#70,952), “neoplasm” (#70,951), “nicking” (#70,956). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nervy” is #70,953. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nervy is uncommon English at frequency #70,953 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈnɜː.vi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for nervy in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From nerve + -y. The correct English form is nervy, spelled N-E-R-V-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having nerve; bold; brazen.
  2. 2
    Feeling nervous, anxious or agitated.
  3. 3
    Strong; sinewy.
  4. 4
    Jittery; having unwanted signal characteristics.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nervy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It takes a nervy man to promulgate such stuff, and Ted Nelson has made a career out of being nervy.
  2. Blackpool continue to thrive on the adrenalin rush of the end-of-season shoot-out and are heading for a second Wembley date in two years after negotiating a nervy path past Birmingham.

Etymology

From nerve + -y.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nervy"?
"nervy" is spelled N-E-R-V-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɜː.vi/.
What does "nervy" mean?
As an adjective, "nervy" means: Having nerve; bold; brazen.
How do you pronounce "nervy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nervy" is /ˈnɜː.vi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "nervy"?
From nerve + -y. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nervy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

murry#70,937Osamu#70,977moult#70,927Moniz#70,918

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list